31 Days of Prayer for My Nation E-Book

The Great Commandment Network

• Herausgeber: BroadStreet Publishing Group, LLC
• Kategorie: Religion und Spiritualität
• Serie: 31 Days of Prayer
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2018

Seitenzahl: 157

Beschreibung

Jesus is praying for this nation and He invites you to join Him! Recall an image of Jesus you've likely seen—Jesus, on His knees, praying. Imagine leaning in to listen to what He is praying and you hear Jesus speaking our nation's name. Experience Jesus' heart for our nation as you declare your freedom and passion to love the Lord, claim Bible promises for our nation's future, and intercede for spiritual awakening and growth.  With devotional contributions from National Day of Prayer leaders, staff, and friends—including Ronnie Floyd, Dave Butts, Kim Butts, Jon Graf, Tony Evans, Kay Horner, Sammy Rodriquez, Alton Garrison, Tom Phillips, Frances Chan, Tony Perkins, and Oscar Thompson—31 Days of Prayer for My Nation provides: - Guided prayer points for our nation's unity and leaders, along with prayers for spiritual awakening in the church and global gospel witness. - A powerful, Scripture-based prayer strategy for better loving the Lord, living God's Word, loving people, and living His mission. - Scriptures, prayers, and promises to declare over your nation. - A practical resource for personal devotions, small group studies, and other ministries.God has put you in this nation for a purpose. Support it through prayer and see the benefits in your own life.

Leseprobe

BroadStreet Publishing® Group, LLC

Savage, Minnesota, USA

BroadStreetPublishing.com

31 DAYS OF PRAYER FOR MY NATION

Copyright © 2018 Great Commandment Network

ISBN: 978-1-4245-5623-6 (softcover)

ISBN: 978-1-4245-5624-3 (e-book)

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without permission in writing from the publisher.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture is taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188, USA. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. Scripture quotations marked ESV are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. Copyright © 2000; 2001 by Cross-way Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked NASB are taken from the New American Standard Bible, © Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. Scripture quotations marked MSG are from THE MESSAGE. Copyright © by Eugene H. Peterson 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group. Scripture quotations marked NKJV are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked HCSB are taken from the Holman Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville Tennessee. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked ASV are taken from the American Standard Version of the Holy Bible.

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Cover design by Chris Garborg at garborgdesign.com

Interior by Katherine Lloyd at theDESKonline.com

Printed in the United States of America

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Contents

Foreword by Dr. Ronnie Floyd

Preface

31 Days of Prayer Resource Collection

DAY 1

Why Pray for My Nation?

DAY 2

What to Pray for My Nation

DAY 3

How to Pray for My Nation

SECTION IPRAY FOR UNITY … AND A SPIRIT-EMPOWERED FAITH OF LOVING THE LORD

DAY 4

Our Nation Is Broken

DAY 5

Why Unity Matters: The Heart of Jesus

DAY 6

Be the Answer: Unity of Faith and Works

DAY 7

Extraordinary United Prayer

DAY 8

Revival Signs

DAY 9

Turning a Nation to God

DAY 10

Preserve the Unity of the Spirit

SECTION IIPRAY FOR OUR NATION’S LEADERS … AND A SPIRIT-EMPOWERED FAITH OF LOVING PEOPLE

DAY 11

Prayer for Our Nation’s Leaders

DAY 12

How to Pray for Your Pastor

DAY 13

Prayers for Arts and Media

DAY 14

Pray for Our Military

DAY 15

Prayer for Education

DAY 16

Pray for Marketplace Leaders

DAY 17

Freedom, Faith, and Families

SECTION IIIPRAY FOR SPIRITUAL AWAKENING … AND A SPIRIT-EMPOWERED FAITH OF LIVING HIS WORD

DAY 18

Pray for Revival Among God’s People

DAY 19

Wake Up!

DAY 20

What Are You Remembering?

DAY 21

Do You Need a Breakthrough Moment?

DAY 22

Revival Fire

DAY 23

A Lifestyle of Forgiveness

DAY 24

Secrets Made Known by the Light

SECTION IVPRAY FOR GOSPEL WITNESS … AND A SPIRIT-EMPOWERED FAITH FOR LIVING HIS MISSION

DAY 25

Look Around and See the Lostness

DAY 26

Book of Acts Praying: The Best Practice for Church Growth

DAY 27

Praying for Others to Come to Jesus Christ

DAY 28

How to See the Gospel Spread and Flourish

DAY 29

Behold the Lamb

DAY 30

Concentric Circles of Concern

DAY 31

Spirit-Empowered Disciple

About the Authors

APPENDIX 1 About the Great Commandment Network

APPENDIX 2 A Spirit-Empowered Faith

APPENDIX 3 A Spirit-Empowered Disciple

More Prayer Resources

Devotional contributions in this resource have been contributed by the National Day of Prayer leaders, staff, and friends, including excerpts from the following author blogs:

•Ronnie Floyd

•Dave Butts

•Kim Butts

•Jon Graf

Along with excerpts from Cry Out to the Lord (by the Great Commandment Network) from the following authors:

•Tony Evans

•Kay Horner

•Sammy Rodriquez

•Alton Garrison

•Tom Phillips

•Frances Chan

•Tony Perkins

•Oscar Thompson (deceased)

Author biographies are found on pages 112–116.

The National Day of Prayer is pleased to serve numerous national ministries in the cause of spiritual awakening in our nation.

Foreword

I believe it is imperative for every Christian and church to pray for our nation. I believe this is biblical, therefore, must be convictional.

America has never needed Christians and churches to pray for our nation more. This is why we are putting this book, 31 Days of Prayer for My Nation, into your hands.

Please join me, along with thousands of Christians and churches in America, as we allocate thirty-one days to pray in agreement for our nation. As we prepare to enter this journey, let’s make every effort to gather other Christians and churches to join us.

Now is the time to pray for America. Now is the time for every spiritual leader to consider standing with me and others, calling upon people from all walks of life to pray for our nation. Whether you are a pastor of a local church, a leader in a denomination, or a leader in your fellowship of believers, let’s do all we can to come together and pray for our nation.

Distance may separate us physically, but our oneness in Christ will unite us spiritually. As we enter prayerful intercession for our nation, may this be the time when God answers our prayers and the next great spiritual awakening occurs.

Let’s agree clearly, unite visibly, and pray extraordinarily for the revival of the church and the awakening of the nation spiritually, so we can see the gospel of Jesus Christ advanced to every person globally.

Dr. Ronnie Floyd

President, National Day of Prayer

Preface

From the earliest days of our nation, prayer has been at the forefront of great moves of God as His people have sought Him for the next spiritual awakening. Along the way, God has chosen a variety of places and people to awaken the nation: the colonial village of North Hampton, Massachusetts, the Cain Ridge Camp Meeting in Kentucky, New York City’s Bowery District, a renovated livery stable on Azusa Street in Los Angeles, and most recently through the generational passion of the Jesus Movement.

Just as united, prevailing prayer has been key to each past move of God, so it is in our day that God has positioned the National Day of Prayer (NDP) under Dr. Ronnie Floyd’s leadership along with dozens of other prayer ministries “for such a time as this.” The Awakening America Alliance is honored to support development and distribution of this unique resource to further the cause of the next Christ awakening in our land alongside the NDP and more than two dozen other ministries noted in this resource.

Awakening scholar Dr. Bob Bakke has noted that great moves of God have arisen from the passionate pursuit of God “by a group of friends.” Therefore, the Awakening America Alliance is a relational platform of kingdom leaders, serving the next Great Awakening and missional living to see the gospel flourish in our nation and around the globe.

Downstream in our world, we find the symptoms and signs of church irrelevance, fragmented relationships, cultural decay, moral decline, and love growing cold, but … upstream from such symptoms, we find hope. Reflecting on past Great Awakenings, we find hope in four specific initiatives as His Spirit leads in the following ways:

1.United prayer as God’s people prevail in believing prayer.

2.Pastoral renewal as ministers experience their own spiritual awakening—healthy and renewed pastors live a Great Commission lifestyle empowered by Great Commandment love (see Matthew 28:19–20; 22:37–40).

3.Courageous preaching as ministers declare God’s truth and engage Christ-followers in the critical issues of the day.

4.Church revitalization, church planting, and evangelism are reshaped as followers of Jesus live a prayer-care-share lifestyle and make disciples who make disciples.

Kay Horner, Executive Director Dr. David Ferguson, Chairman Awakening America Alliance

31 Days of Prayer Resource Collection

The 31 Days of Prayer Resource Collection is designed to foster a Spirit-empowered faith. A framework for spiritual growth has been drawn from a cluster analysis of several Greek and Hebrew words that declare Christ’s followers are to be equipped for works of ministry or service (see Ephesians 4:11–13). Therefore, within this resource you will find guided prayer experiences organized around four prayer themes:

•Pray for Unity … and a Spirit-Empowered Faith of Loving the Lord

•Pray for Our Nation’s Leaders … and a Spirit-Empowered Faith of Loving People

•Pray for Spiritual Awakening … and a Spirit-Empowered Faith of Living His Word

•Pray for Gospel Witness … and a Spirit-Empowered Faith of Living His Mission

Imagine that you have just begun a journey of 31 Days of Prayer for My Nation. It is as if you are going for a walk. As you read through this resource, we invite you to walk:

•in the light of God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (see John 8:12),

•in the light of God’s Word (see Psalm 119:105), and

•in the light of God’s people (see Matthew 5:14).

The guided prayer experiences are designed around these sources of God’s light. They will encourage your awakening journey as a Spirit-empowered disciple of Jesus Christ. We are delighted that you have decided to take this walk with us. God’s Word reminds us that it is vitally important to walk in the light: “Walk while you have the light,” Jesus told His followers (John 12:35 NIV).

The Great Commandment Network has developed the guided prayer experiences, the Spirit-empowered discipleship framework, and, in collaboration with others, the Spirit-empowered outcomes that are included in the appendix of this resource (see pages 117–129). Our deepest desire is to serve our friend, Dr. Ronnie Floyd, and the National Day of Prayer through our contributions.

The Great Commandment Network is an international collaborative network of strategic, kingdom leaders from the faith community, marketplace, education, and caregiving fields who prioritize the powerful simplicity of the words of Jesus to love God, love others, and see others become His followers (Matthew 22:37–40; Matthew 28:19–20)

“Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace.”

- Ephesians 4:3

DAY 1

Why Pray for My Nation?

Unity is our only hope for all that divides us. Jesus prayed, “I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one—as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me” (John 17:21).

☆Lord, regardless of our own preferences or traditions, draw each of your followers together as a witness of Jesus to the entire world.

☆Father, use your church to serve as the unifying body of people in our nation.

☆Holy Spirit, wake up your church to spiritual revival, experiencing the manifest presence of God as a people.

Our leaders must turn toward His Word and will: “The king’s heart is like a stream of water directed by the LORD; he guides it wherever he pleases” (Proverbs 21:1).

☆Lord Jesus, we ask you to turn the heart of our president, vice president, and both houses of Congress toward your Word and your ways.

☆Father, we ask you to inspire and lead the hearts of our political leaders to come together for the good of our nation.

☆Holy Spirit, we ask you to place God’s armor upon each of our leaders, protecting them and their families in every way.

The truth is that the next great spiritual awakening can usher in the fulfillment of the Great Commission. This is why Paul reminds us, “This is all the more urgent, for you know how late it is; time is running out. Wake up, for our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed” (Romans 13:11).

☆Father, we ask that your sovereign will be for the next great spiritual awakening to occur in our generation.

☆Lord Jesus, because of your grace, pour out your power upon our nation, bringing forth a spiritual awakening that will result in millions coming to faith in Jesus Christ.

☆Holy Spirit, move your church to pray extraordinarily until we see the next great spiritual awakening in our generation.

DAY 2

What to Pray for My Nation

THREE PRAYER PRIORITIES FOR UNITY

Whether you pray daily or weekly for our nation, please join in praying with the authority of the Scriptures for these three priorities for our nation:

PRAY FOR UNITY IN OUR NATION (#PRAY4UNITY)

Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. (Ephesians 4:3 NIV)

☆Father in heaven, you are the only one who can bring unity, harmony, and oneness in our nation. We pray and ask you for unity in our nation.

☆Lord, call the churches of our nation to live in unity within their own church and in unity with churches that are biblically based and Jesus-centered.

☆Jesus, as your church walks in unity, harmony, and oneness, may your church personify, lead, and call our nation to unity.

☆Lord Jesus Christ, in this crisis moment in our nation, it is incumbent upon each of us to come together for the sake of the gospel, the testimony of the gospel, and the global advancement of the gospel; consequently, God, may we make every effort to unite in prayer and pursuit of your purpose for this nation.

☆Father, while our nation is filled with so many challenges and divisions abound, use each of us to unify our families, our churches, our workplaces, and our communities.

TRUST GOD TO LEAD OUR NATION THROUGH THESE CRITICAL TIMES OF DECISION-MAKING

“For I know the plans I have for you,” says the LORD. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.” (Jeremiah 29:11)

☆Lord, we trust you to convict our nation’s leaders of your desire for them to work together in unity for the well-being of our nation.

☆Sovereign Lord, we appeal to you alone to give our nation a future and a hope.

☆Spirit of God, move upon the leaders of our nation to work together toward resolving the following issues for the welfare of our nation:

οTax reform

οHealth-care reform

οImmigration reform

οNational security

οReligious liberty

οSanctity and dignity of human life

οTerrorism, both nationally and globally

☆Lord and Defender, we appeal to you to protect the leaders of our nation and their families, as well as the members of our military, both nationally and globally, and all the first responders in our nation.

BELIEVE GOD FOR HIS SUPERNATURAL INTERVENTION IN OUR NATION ON THE NATIONAL DAY OF PRAYER (THE FIRST THURSDAY OF EACH MAY)

In those days when you pray, I will listen. If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me. (Jeremiah 29:12–13)

☆Lord, on this day when millions of people gather in thousands of settings, please listen to our prayers as we seek you with all our hearts.

☆Father, in these most critical moments in our generation, please call leaders of denominations, churches, government, education, business, cities, and all communities in our nation to create numerous gatherings that will saturate their regions in prayer for unity in our nation.

“I looked for someone who might rebuild the wall … to stand in the gap … so I wouldn’t have to destroy the land, but I found no one.”

- Ezekiel 22:30

DAY 3

How to Pray for My Nation

It is the people in God’s house who hold the future of our nation, not governmental leaders. We are called to pray for those in authority but not to depend upon them for the healing of our nation.

God has been filled with grace and mercy toward a nation characterized by a lack of biblical truth. Believers know the truth, but it does no good if that truth doesn’t live fully within them and if it is not expressed in their everyday lives. Crisis in our nation will not be averted through an election but only because the people, who are called by His name, have humbled themselves and prayed, sought His face, and turned from their wicked ways (see 2 Chronicles 7:14).

If our dependence is on God, then we will continue to seek Him on behalf of our nation despite any election results. The church has been impotent and silent before heaven, as well as within our culture. We have been relegated to the position of irrelevance, and so has our God. His people have not represented Him in the fight for biblical truth in our nation, and we are now reaping what we have sown.

But God …

If we, who are His people and who are called by His name, will truly humble ourselves and pray, seek His face, and turn from our wicked ways, then He will hear from heaven, forgive our sins, and heal our land. What an incredible promise that has been left unclaimed in this generation.

It’s time to blow the trumpet and sound the alarm (see Joel 2). Believers must not stop seeking the face of God until revival is poured out upon a repentant people and His kingdom is unmistakably established within our nation once again.

The future of our nation is teetering on a precipice, and our response to this perilous moment in history will reveal the true condition of our hearts. May our God find us faithfully about the work of earnest and focused intercession so that He will hear the prayers from His humble, broken people, pour out His merciful forgiveness, and heal our land.

SECTION I

PRAY FOR UNITY AND A SPIRIT-EMPOWERED FAITH OF LOVING THE LORD